Bo Xilai

News about Bo Xilai, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Apr. 9, 2014

Zhou Yu, senior Chinese police official linked to disgraced Communist Party official Bo Xilai, is found to have hung himself in hotel room. MORE

Oct. 24, 2013

Though the fallen Chinese politician’s story has been full of twists, the High People’s Court in the city of Jinan did exactly what everyone expected it would do. MORE

Sep. 23, 2013

Chinese Communist Party steps up its efforts to convince a scandal-weary public that the spectacle of trial of Bo Xilai, who was sentenced to life in prison, proves that national leaders are serious about rooting out official corruption. MORE

Sep. 22, 2013

Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai is found guilty of bribetaking, embezzlement and abuse of power and sentenced to life in prison; remains defiant, pleading not guilty and contesting nearly every aspect of case; family members say he will likely appeal verdict. MORE

Sep. 19, 2013

Verdict and sentence in case of Bo Xilai, former high-ranking Chinese official whose downfall shook the Communist Party, will be announced on Sept 22; political analysts say they expect Bo, who is accused of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, to be found guilty and receive a lengthy prison sentence. MORE

Sep. 3, 2013

News analysis; there are competing arguments in China about whether trial of Bo Xilai, former elite Communist Party official charged with bribetaking, has contributed to progress in establishing rule of law. MORE

Sep. 1, 2013

Frank Bruni Op-Ed column underscores the fraudulence surrounding the trial of disgraced former Chinese government official Bo Xilai; notes that many things in the country are fraudulent, from counterfeit products to animals in some zoos; contends that rampant fraudulence is corrosive and eats away at any trust the outside world can have in the country. MORE

Aug. 31, 2013

Fallen Communist Party official Bo Xilai said in secret testimony during his trial that he was obeying orders from China's Central Politics and Law Commission when he took steps to cover up flight of police chief Wang Lijun to American Consulate. MORE

Aug. 30, 2013

Bo Xilai, fallen Chinese Communist Party star, denies trying to upset party's selection of top leaders or grab power for himself; remarks, made during final session of his trial, provide glimpse of politics that many believe were behind his ouster in 2012. MORE

Aug. 28, 2013

Editorial contends that Chinese government's handling of trial of disgraced former Communist Party official Bo Xilai, coupled with disclosed government memo from Pres Xi Jinping warning of subversive elements in society, reflect fear top leaders have of losing control; cautions Chinese government that its economic future hinges on more democratic society. MORE

Aug. 27, 2013

Bo Xilai, former elite Communist Party official, attacks elements of the prosecution's case against him, concluding a trial that has riveted China; Bo says charges against him are deeply flawed because they depend on evidence from his wife, Gu Kailai, and his former deputy, Wang Lijun, who Bo claims had a passionate relationship. MORE

Aug. 26, 2013

Analysts say corruption trial in China of ousted Communist Party official Bo Xilai is political stagecraft, an effort by party to convince Bo's allies and supporters that long prison sentence he is expected to get is based on evidence of crimes committed, and not political payback. MORE

Aug. 25, 2013

Fallen Chinese official Bo Xilai, who is charged with taking bribes, embezzlement and abusing his power through moves to suppress exposure of murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, faces his accuser former police chief Wang Lijun for first time in court MORE

Aug. 24, 2013

Prosecutors in trial of Bo Xilai, China's disgraced Communist Party star, assert that he knew about a French villa bought for his family by a tycoon and about demands for compensation from a British businessman managing the villa who was later murdered by Bo’s wife Gu Kailai; testimony is aimed at proving that Bo knew about bribes. MORE

Aug. 23, 2013

Bo Xilai, once a rising star in China's Communist Party, takes pugnacious stand in opening session of his corruption trial, rejecting accusations that he took bribes and ridiculing his wife's testimony against him; trial unfurls in unexpectedly open manner, as authorities allow running court microblog accessible by millions. MORE

Aug. 23, 2013

Chinese government takes unprecedented step of reporting corruption trial of politician Bo Xilai on Sina.com's Weibo service, popular microblog platform similar to Twitter; reports draw riveted attention from millions of Chinese, testament to public's fascination with Bo and power of Chinese Internet. MORE

Aug. 22, 2013

Chinese officials are relying on evidence from Xu Ming, businessman with close ties to former Politburo member Bo Xilai, in much-anticipated corruption trial against Bo; indictment holds that Xu funneled millions of dollars in bribes to Bo and his family; charges, along with accusations that Bo abused power by obstructing murder investigation, could result in lengthy prison term. MORE

Aug. 22, 2013

Trial of Bo Xilai, fallen Communist Party aristocrat, begins in closed-door hearing; Bo, whose wife was convicted of murder, is charged with taking bribes, corruption and abuse of power. MORE

Aug. 21, 2013

Corruption trial of former Chinese Communist official Bo Xilai is set to begin, putting China's leaders in delicate position of portraying Bo as criminal while preserving respect for his leftist policies; Maoist ideology, abandoned in favor of economic reform for 35 years, remains wellspring that Chinese politicians can tap for popular support and legitimacy. MORE

Aug. 20, 2013

Bo Guagua, younger son of China's fallen Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, makes rare public statement on eve of corruption trial of his father, saying in statement that he has been unable to communicate with his father or mother for a year and a half and expressing concerns over their 'clandestine detention'. MORE

Aug. 19, 2013

China's state-run news media announces date that disgraced Communist Party official Bo Xilai will stand trial on charges of corruption, taking bribes and abusing power. MORE

Aug. 16, 2013

Relatives of Neil Heywood, British businessman murdered in China in 2011, demand $8 million in compensation from family of Gu Kalai, woman convicted of poisoning him; it remains unclear how much in cash, assets and investments Gu and her husband Bo Xilai have accumulated. MORE

Aug. 13, 2013

Family members of Neil Heywood, British businessman whose mysterious death in China set off downfall of senior Communist Party official Bo Xilai, are seeking compensation from family of Gu Kailai, Bo Xilai's wife who has been convicted of poisoning Heywood. MORE

Aug. 9, 2013

Song Yangbiao, Chinese journalist who has called for protest of prosecution of fallen Communist Party official Bo Xilai, has been detained by government. MORE

Aug. 8, 2013

Op-Ed article by journalist Pin Ho assesses possibility that disgraced Communist Party official Bo Xilai could end up as an unlikely populist hero; notes that Chinese officials hope his trial will put a full stop to the party's most embarrassing political scandal in decades. MORE

Aug. 6, 2013

Villa in Cannes, France, is at center of criminal charges against Bo Xilai, fallen Communist Party aristocrat, who has been accused of taking bribes worth more than $3.5 million from young Chinese billionaire Xu Ming; Chinese authorities allege villa was bought by Xu and given to Bo family. MORE

Jul. 30, 2013

Bo Guagua, youngest son of disgraced Chinese Communist party official Bo Xilai, enrolls at Columbia Law School and is expected to begin studies in fall 2013. MORE

Jul. 25, 2013

Bo Xilai, disgraced former Communist Party official in China, is indicted on criminal charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power; indictment paves way for a prominent trial that could be a climactic chapter in scandal that exposed sordid political machinations at top levels of the party. MORE

Jan. 29, 2013

Dozens of Chinese journalists flock to courthouse in southwestern Chinese city of Guiyang because of false report that trial of disgraced former Communist Party official Bo Xilai was to begin; confusion underscores quandary of disjunction between Communist Party's aversion to transparency and public's lack of trust in those who run courts, news media and every other level of power. MORE

Dec. 22, 2012

Chinese news organization reports that Wang Lijun, former police chief in Chongqing, played direct role in organizing murder of Neil Heywood, British businessman found dead in a hotel room in November 2011; publication reports that it had obtained documents that said one or more witnesses had told officials that Wang had examined container of cyanide with Gu Kailai, wife of Bo Xilai, former party chief of Chongqing. MORE

Nov. 5, 2012

Top leaders in China's Communist Party approve a raft of measures that pave the way for a once-in-a-decade leadership transition; decisions include the expulsion of disgraced politician Bo Xilai from the party and the promotion of two generals, Fan Changlong and Xu Qiliang, to vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission. MORE

Oct. 27, 2012

China moves quickly to announce that it has formally begun criminal inquiry into former senior politician Bo Xilai, hours after expelling him from Parliament and, in doing so, removing his immunity from prosecution. MORE

Oct. 26, 2012

China announces promotions of five generals, shaping top leadership of rapidly modernizing military as it becomes more dominant player in Asia and challenges American dominance in region; also announces that Parliament has expelled disgraced former politician Bo Xilai, removing his immunity from prosecution. MORE

Oct. 23, 2012

Dozens of Chinese leftists sign open letter to Wu Bangguo, chairman of Standing Committee of National People's Congress, asking him not to expel disgraced official Bo Xilai. MORE

Oct. 7, 2012

Li Danyu, former wife of fallen Chinese leader Bo Xilai, offers insight into web of entanglements among China's 'red nobility,' and deepens dimension of scandal that has gripped nation and disrupted the Communist Party's once-a-decade leadership transition; Li acknowledges long history of enmity between her and Bo's second wife Gu Kailai, but says her son Li Wangzhi never conspired to murder Gu. MORE

Oct. 1, 2012

Bo Guagua, youngest son of former Chinese Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, posts statement on Tumblr defending his father as 'upright in his beliefs and devoted to duty'. MORE

Sep. 29, 2012

Beijing officials announce disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and faces criminal charges; also set the 18th Party Congress, China's once-a-decade leadership transition, to start Nov 8. MORE

Sep. 20, 2012

Chinese government releases official account of trial of Wang Lijun, former police chief, that essentially accuses disgraced politician Bo Xilai of trying to cover up the murder of British businessman, Neil Heywood, by his wife, Gu Kailai; account is surest sign yet that Bo could be charged and dealt with more harshly than expected. MORE

Sep. 19, 2012

Wang Lijun confesses to defection, the most serious charge against him, and does not contest other charges of abuse of power, taking bribes and bending the law for personal gain; it is unclear when a formal sentence will be announced, but mention of Wang's help to investigators in other cases and other mitigating factors indicate that he will likely not be given the death sentence. MORE

Sep. 18, 2012

Trial of Wang Lijun, former police chief who was a key player in the fall of politician Bo Xilai, begins in secret in Chengdu, China, where he attempted to seek refuge in a United States Consulate in February; Wang is charged with defection and abuse of power. MORE

Sep. 15, 2012

Trial date for is set for Wang Lijun, former police chief in Chongqing, China, under the fallen politician Bo Xilai; Wang faces charges of defection, illegal surveillance and taking bribes. MORE

Sep. 6, 2012

Wang Lijun, once-powerful police officer at center of a scandal that felled the senior Chinese Communist leader Bo Xilai, is charged with defection, abuse of power and corruption; charges stem from his flight in February to the United States Consulate in Chengdu, where he told American diplomats that Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, had killed British businessman Neil Heywood. MORE

Aug. 18, 2012

Chinese court is expected to issue a verdict soon in the murder trial of Bo Xilai's wife Gu Kailai, who is reported to have all but confessed to killing British businessman Neil Heywood. MORE

Aug. 11, 2012

Prosecutors in the murder trial of Gu Kailai, wife of the ousted Chinese party leader Bo Xilai, say she plotted to protect her son Bo Guagua from demands for money by Neil Heywood, the British businessman she is accused of killing. MORE

Aug. 10, 2012

Gu Kailai, the wife of the ousted Chinese party leader Bo Xilai, is said to have confessed to the murder of the British businessman, Neil Heywood, after a neatly packaged murder trial that lasted less than seven hours; prosecutors claim she killed him over worries that he might harm her only child; Gu and her accomplice, Zhang Xiaojun, were deprived of their own legal counsel and forced to accept a government-appointed lawyer; no defense witnesses were produced and the defendants’ lawyers had no chance to review the prosecution’s evidence. MORE

Jul. 27, 2012

Chinese authorities formally charge Gu Kailai, wife of disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai, with the poisoning death of British businessman Neil Heywood; although no compelling evidence has been presented to rebut the official narrative that Gu played a role in Heywood's death, many Chinese wonder if party leaders are using her case to deflect public disgust over the kind of corruption and abuse of power that critics say was embodied by her husband. MORE

Jul. 24, 2012

French officials dispute news media reports that Patrick Henri Devillers, a French architect who was an associate of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, was arrested after arriving in Beijing, saying that he was being housed in proper conditions and was not in prison. MORE

Jul. 19, 2012

Patrick Devillers, a French architect who has been linked to the disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai and to Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, who has been implicated in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, has agreed to return to China after Cambodia released him from custody at Beijing’s request; he is to cooperate with the Chinese authorities investigating Heywood's death. MORE

Jun. 20, 2012

Cambodian authorities arrest Patrick Devillers, French architect who worked closely with disgraced Chinese official Bo Xilai; arrest, made on behalf of China, is likely to trigger further diplomatic friction in a dispute that has already embroiled the United States and Britain. MORE

Jun. 15, 2012

Bo Xilai scandal sheds light on China's feared interrogation system called shuanggui, where Communist Party members suspected of corruption face torture and forced confessions; over the last decade, hundreds of officials have committed suicide or died under mysterious circumstances during months of harsh confinement in secret locations. MORE

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